alycemina Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 Hi all, The dressed dolls I have bought always have tiny machine stitching and I as I look at them, I wonder if the makers use a special sewing machine, since mine has a RL throat plate/feed and I cant imagine getting such good hems, etc. with it. Even using a very small needle and the delicate setting for the feed. It is okay for Barbie size if I am very careful, but dont think it will work with dh size. I could hand sew, but machine stitching looks so much better. Suggestions? Hints? Thanks Alyce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just One More Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 I think they must use special machines. I have a nice Singer electronic machine with built in zigzag etc and I have trouble on anything smaller than larger doll clothes. I may not have the tension right but the stitches look OK. Can't find any remedies in the manual. It just jams up sometimes on really small clothes. I do a lot of hand sewing for dolls. It's easier than ripping out 100 times trying to get it to look professional. If you have a good color match on thread the stitches aren't that noticible . If you don't want to remove the dollhouse size doll clothes it's sometimes possible to use fabric glue instead of sewing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 I also handsew the clothes on dh dolls, using tiny stitches, and in particular a lot of overcasting. As Pat mentions, using a matching (or closely matching) thread helps. Unless the makers are using a child-sized hand-operated sewing machine or there's a special size throuat plate for mini sewing, I have no idea how it's done. I do notice the Li'l Bratz & Li'l Boyz clothes are machine sewn, and I expect because it's mass-produced the seams & rolls are stitched in continuous runs and the pieces cut apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherr Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 Alyce, I use my machine to stitch seams that may be over a 2" run (sometimes less). I also handsew a lot. My machine is a 1980 Singer Stylus...nothing special, but it is a nice heavy ,metal bodied machine. I use the finest stitch it has and adjust the tension and feed dogs according to fabric weight. Silks are harder to work with on the machine than cotton but it sews lawn and lightweight pimas beautifully. If absolutely necessary, I use lightweight "tear away stablizer" to keep the fabric feeding thru the machine. You might try that but be very careful tearing it away as not to loosen the stitches. I don't use it for proper hems tho I suppose I could. I usually machine sew the lining to the material and turn it and iron at the seam. Good luck ....it's just been lot's of practise for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherr Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 Oh one more thing....Make sure your fabric has a very tight weave. The machine will eat fabric that has a loose weave on the fine stitches. I just had that happen on a dobby cotton I was sewing. Very frustrating!! Thats why I like lawn cottons and pimas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corwin Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 Hmm I usually hand sew and glue. It would be interesting to find a machine with tiny stitches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butlerestates Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 I may not have the tension right but the stitches look OK. My mom is a tailor and has worked from home since I was a baby. My whole life I was told to "NEVER" touch the tension on her sewing machines! So to this day that is the last thing I adjust. When my machine was not sewing right and I asked her what could be wrong she said did you adjust the tension? I told her "NO I'm not aloud to touch that!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shannonc60 Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 I make tiny dolls clothes on my sewing machine for Petite Blythes, which are smaller than dollhouse scale and don't have too many problems but they are fiddly and you need patience. I use a very small stitch (approx 1mm) and I cannot stress enough that the secret is tear-away stabilizer. I pin everything to it to sew tiny things. I even sew stretch fabrics that way. I also use a product called 'No more pins' to stick tiny details like pockets in place to sew them. I find stitching over pins on tiny items can make the stitch line wonky, so I remove them as I stitch along or use the 'no more pins'. Especially on hemlines. Good luck, hope this helps. Oh and my machine is a standard Janome do-everything-on-it machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 My mom is a tailor and has worked from home since I was a baby. My whole life I was told to "NEVER" touch the tension on her sewing machines! So to this day that is the last thing I adjust. When my machine was not sewing right and I asked her what could be wrong she said did you adjust the tension? I told her "NO I'm not aloud to touch that!" <giggling> My mother did the same thing and to this day I still don't like to adjust the tension. Of course, part of that is due to a serious personality conflict I had with an old White that wouldn't hold it's tension. It's tension problem gave me considerable tension until one day I literally threw it out the back door. It weighed so much it dug a huge divet in the yard when it landed and then sat there sulking for several days till I finally gave it to a 13 year old boy to take apart. (he liked taking things apart but as far as I know he never put them back together) <cackle> I have a zero tolerance for bad attitudes in sewing machines. Back to the original question........I hand sew all my miniature stuff using beading needles and nymo thread. A better solution for hems is to use a fusible web such as Wonder Under or simply glue it with Tacky Glue. (test it on a sample piece of the fabric first since some delicate fabrics don't take well to either one) Hems tend to be really bunchy in miniature if they're sewn and real life hems are blind stitched so the stitches don't show. Deb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just One More Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 My machine has an auto tension setting so haven't changed it. I probably should find the very finest needle. The one I use most is for light weight fabrics but there may be finer ones out now. I'll have to check out JoAnns next time I go. The worst part about doll clothes for me is elastic. Thank goodness mini doll clothes don't use it. I don't think there is elastic fine enough except elastic thread which I have never tried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Thank goodness mini doll clothes don't use it.One of the informal swaps I did there were a half-dozen pairs (or so) of 1:12 doll bloomer drawers that had been made to be removable and not only had elastic braid in the waists but also around the legs! That said, I don't make the clothes removable, so I don't use elastic on 1:12 doll clothes, either, and scale is just one of the reasons!lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfie Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 In my humble estimation, most machine stitiching on 1/12th doll clothing is way too big. Remember scale.......and look at your own clothing and try to imagine the stitches in 1/12th scale...... If one inch equals a foot, 1/16th of an inch in real life is less than a hair. The stiching is not meant to show....and no real life machine can duplicate that. I use both hand sewing and gluing to realism. Even on those items of clothing meant to hang on hangers, scale is everything from hanger to clothing item. Sorry, I don't agree with removeable clothing.......the tiny buttons are not tiny enough- remember scale...... My take on this subject.......and my opinion - everyone is entitled to their own! And I so agree with Holly on this one! SCALE is all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debra Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 <giggling> My mother did the same thing and to this day I still don't like to adjust the tension. Of course, part of that is due to a serious personality conflict I had with an old White that wouldn't hold it's tension. It's tension problem gave me considerable tension until one day I literally threw it out the back door. It weighed so much it dug a huge divet in the yard when it landed and then sat there sulking for several days till I finally gave it to a 13 year old boy to take apart. (he liked taking things apart but as far as I know he never put them back together) <cackle> I have a zero tolerance for bad attitudes in sewing machines. Deb OMG I thought I was the only one who had zero tolerance to bad attitude sewing machines lol, I used to punch to bejebies out of mine lol, it made me feel better lol, did nothing for my hand lol. It was an old cast one as well. And back to sewing dolls clothes. I use my old singer treddle (That I sew everything on) it seems to handle the smallest stictches with no problems at all. Cheers Debra. OH Deb I wonder if it has anything to do with name Deb ROFL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katethesape Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I purposefully do not sew my doll clothes on a sewing machine. I know handsewn may look less professional and it may take longer, but I have an easier time being patience with that than with a grouchy machine. :groucho: If you want to try handsewn, get a beader's needle (someone else suggested that) and clear thread. It won't show as much. I do like when the thread is contrasting, though, on certain clothes. I made a ballgown for my friend's doll and it was purple and green, so I used yellow thread. It looked more like an embroidery piece then. Hope you find what you like! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badlilkit10 Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 im a hand sewer thru and thru i do want a machine though thats on my wish list i have a few projects coming up thank god my mom got me a new sewing box a lots of thread :groucho: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 . The stiching is not meant to show....and no real life machine can duplicate that. I use both hand sewing and gluing to realism. And having spent a great deal of time petting and oohing/aahing over Wolfie's creations I can testify that her technique is perfection. The beading needles I use are size 13 and 15. (the higher the number, the smaller the needle.........a size 15 is so thin it can almost be wrapped around your finger) Because the thinner beading needles are very long and do bend easily, for heavier fabrics, I use a size 13 sharp (a quilting needle that's a little bit shorter) However, if you're going to be working with a delicate fabric such as silk, the size 15 and the thinnest thread possible don't pull the weave and leave almost no visible hole in the fabric at all. Nymo thread is probably the closest we'll ever get to miniature thread. You can get it at any beading supply store and it comes in a huge variety of colors. Fire Mountain Gems is probably the best online supplier. Size 00 is just a little thicker than a human hair. If I'm using 00 and a size 15, I can literally sew a stitch thru the skin on my finger tip and not even notice it till I try to move my hand and realize I've sewn myself to the fabric again. Deb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I can literally sew a stitch thru the skin on my finger tip and not even notice it till I try to move my hand and realize I've sewn myself to the fabric again.Don't you just hate when that happens? I used to wear my nails extremely short (when I worked with patients and, ealier, when my kids were babies & toddlers) and I'd do it with regular needle & thread! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfie Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Thank you Deb! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.